Some neighbors, moving away rather suddenly, gave me a brand new pair of Costco olive oil--you know, two giant bottles either 1.5 or 2.0 liters each, shrink-wrapped together. I've bought that olive oil in the past, Bertolli I think. A bit on the bitter side but okay for most purposes and especially, for about $15. Well, last night I went to use the oil, and lo and behold it's not Bertolli. I actually noticed the deep, rich, young green color that's never been Bertolli's color before I realized the label difference. It's Kirkland's own brand.

AND IT'S GOOD. Good enough for cooking and good enough for condiment use. Not complex in the way that special single-orchard Tuscans I buy from Rare Wine Company, but rich and smooth with a vivid olive flavor. Best olive oil deal I've ever seen. Highly recommended!!!

I wish there was a Costco here to give Sams club a run for my $$. I haven't picked up the Lebanese EVOO yet, but it is the darkest green colored OO I have ever seen. Of course that doesn't mean a lot as I have so little experience.

Bob H. wrote:I wish there was a Costco here to give Sams club a run for my $$.

Bob: No Costco in Lexington? And, this could be Lebanese too for all I know--the label's not specific about where it comes from. Could be anywhwere, though it's darker and without the golden hue that is typically Spanish.

Kim: it's good stuff. I had bought some Tuscan at Costco in 750 sized bottles and was sorry that my store, at any rate, no longer carries that. This stuff in the big bottles is fairly close to that in quality--but I never noticed the switch--I didn't care for the Bertolli.

No Costco anywhere in Kentucky, in fact - closest (not close enough) are in Indianapolis and in Memphis.

But we're getting one in Louisville soon, and I'm ready! Should have been here by now, but the plan was held up by NIMBY opposition from suburbanites whose tract mansions just replaced cornfields last year. :-Þ

Their Kirkland Signature EVOO from Tuscany (new crop appears early each year and they run out for a while before the next year's crop) is also my "house" EVOO. They also market an Italian EVOO in larger format which I use for sautes and such, but it is not nearly as good for uses where taste is important.

Also, their Kirkland Signature Balsamic vinegar is very good and we go through a lot of that as well.

No Costco anywhere in Kentucky, in fact - closest (not close enough) are in Indianapolis and in Memphis.

But we're getting one in Louisville soon, and I'm ready! Should have been here by now, but the plan was held up by NIMBY opposition from suburbanites whose tract mansions just replaced cornfields last year. :-Þ

Wow, it's taken this long to get a Costco there? NIMBY opposition can be fierce, but I thought we reserved these kinds of delays for Walmarts. Most towns have an industrialized area to fit a Costco into, and Costco doesn't seem to mind. People come anyway.

Jenise wrote:Wow, it's taken this long to get a Costco there? NIMBY opposition can be fierce, but I thought we reserved these kinds of delays for Walmarts. Most towns have an industrialized area to fit a Costco into, and Costco doesn't seem to mind. People come anyway.

I think it's a combination of things. Costo came to the South last, so I imagine Kentucky wasn't even on their radar for a long time, and a lot of corporate entities, when they think of Kentucky at all, don't realize that there's a fairly major urban area here.

Once they did start planning, they made arrangements to be an anchor store in a new shopping development going into a fairly upscale new suburban area, and the folks who had just bought brand-new 100 percent plastic tract mansions didn't want anything to change now that they were there.

Chef, have you any experience with lebanese EVOO? I have seen it locally in an international (mostly middle east) market. it can be purchased in either a 4 liter can, or a 1.5 liter glass jar. The jar is clear glass ( the oil is a very dark green in color) and I am not exactly happy with that, but it is probably ok so long as I keep the jar in a dark pantry. I will be interested to see your thoughts. Thanks.

While on the subject of Costco products, has anybody tried the frozen Albacore Tuna Loins?

I first noticed them last week, a kilogram for $23.99 Cdn.. I bought some but haven't tried them yet.

Our local Costco is clearing out Shokinag Drinking Chocolate, regular $10.99 for $3 and change. It's tiny little chocolate chips that make really nice ganache. They've also marked down the big tubs of dried mushrooms. I think they're about half the price they started out at.

Chef, have you any experience with lebanese EVOO? I have seen it locally in an international (mostly middle east) market. it can be purchased in either a 4 liter can, or a 1.5 liter glass jar. The jar is clear glass ( the oil is a very dark green in color) and I am not exactly happy with that, but it is probably ok so long as I keep the jar in a dark pantry. I will be interested to see your thoughts. Thanks.

Is it "Nay" by any chance? That's the only one I've seen. Haven't used it, though. There are a bunch of Lebanese in this part of the country. I'll have to ask around.

Leslie D. wrote:Tiggy is good, his last blood test was back to normal. Knock on wood. Glad to be here, the other forum kept getting me to sign in repeatedly. Hope everything is well with you and Bob.

Fantastic news about Tiggy--you both deserved that. My oldest, Dave the Surfer Dude, is going down that path. We haven't done any bloodwork, but the clinical signs are obvious. Makes us so sad. Yeah re the other forum--happened to lots of us. This is indeed much better.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov